Up until now...

I thought about doing a bunch of posts to catch you all up on the last 6 weeks here in China. Then I sat down to actually do it and realized that there was no way I was going to be able to do that in the time it will take Avery to nap, so I am doing one big one.

We are in China! Hooray! We live in a really nice apartment in Panyu, which is the city that Clifford Estates is technically in. We tell people GuangZhou because it is 30 minutes away and much bigger. It is also where we do most of our weekend activities, like eating.The apartment is a little fancy for my tastes, all this marble flooring! But it is clean and bug free so I love it. And have I mentioned the view? Our view is bananas!

Clifford is a nice little oasis in busy, crowded China. We have parks and rec. centers, we have our own grocery, wet market, shops for random items, salons, etc. If you didn't want to, you would never have to leave Clifford the whole time you were here. But we want to.

Inside Clifford and out we depend on public transportation. Avery LOVES the bus. When she hears one or sees one it is all she can say. She will even ask if it is specific buses like "Daddy's bus?" or "Stacie's bus?" or "Bus for juice?" It is hysterical.

I don't have a photo, but, yes, I have a maid here. Her name is Sam and she comes in twice a week to clean my whole house, do any laundry there may be, cook dinner, and drop off any groceries I asked for. It is awesome. I think of all the things she does I appreciate the shopping the most. It is nice to have someone go pick up my fruits, veggies, meats, juices, eggs, and so on so that I don't have to take Avery down to the market and then lug back 4 big bags of groceries and a tired Avery. I hesitated having her shop for me at first because I figured it would not be so bad for me to just do it, but I got over that after three weeks. And she can get stuff cheaper because she shops out of Clifford. She is a gem.

There is a lot to cover so let's just do a plus/minus list that I have come to mentally tally as I have been living here.

+ The maid. I mean, come on.

- The laundry. The maid may come twice a week but I have to do laundry everyday in a washer that is 1/2 the size of one in the states and I hang dry everything.

+ The food. THE BEST TURKISH RESTAURANT EVER! Other good places too, like Hunan, Muslim noodles, Japanese food, and NO TIPPING! Dinners are cheap and the food can be great!

- The food. I don't love Chinese food. And I don't have an oven so that seriously limits my cooking abilities. Also, they have no right to call ANYTHING here 'cake'. They call a lot of things cake and none of them are sweet enough or flavorful enough. And you know why? They use little to no sugar, no vanilla, almond, or lemon extracts. It is nearly impossible to find cinnamon, oregano, basil, and other common seasonings we use in the states. And don't bother trying to find mexican food or a good burger. Just don't

+ The park filled with dancers, chanters, clappers, and Tai Chi masters. It is so bustling and full of life at night and in the mornings. I love it.

- The park filled with dancers, chanters, and clappers until 10 p.m. Avery loves them too and that is a problem at bed time.

+ Joe's schedule. I get to see him in the morning, he comes home for lunch and a nap in the afternoon, and he is home in time to have dinner and play games or go out. It is a great change from the states.

- Avery's schedule. What schedule?

+ Public transportation. It is cheap or free and can get us anywhere. It means that we don't have to buy a car, pay for insurance, or pay for gas. It is great.

- Public transportation. It takes an hour to get to church if you don't miss either of the buses you hope to catch. I can't tell you how many times Avery has fallen asleep on a bus ride back to Clifford and ruined her nap because of it.

Are you seeing a trend here?

+ The fabric market. It means I can have clothes made cheap.

- The fabric market. I MISS MY SEWING MACHINE! Jax, I hope you are putting it to good use.

+ Friends. We have awesome friends here who make the stay enjoyable and much easier to adapt to. If not for Kimi and Andrew I may have turned around and gone home in the first month.

- Family. How far away you all are. I can't even write about it.

All in all we are really liking it here. It rains a lot and the humidity is crazy, but the weather is cooling and I look forward to the fall. Though I will have to do without trick-or-treating, pumpkin pie, turkey dinner, and so many other things I love about this time of year at home. But I will get to put money away in my savings account every month which I never could do in the states so we are sitting pretty over here.

Love you all and miss you much.